Orpheus - Ascending (Full Album)

Orpheus' second album, Ascending, was recorded in May of 1968. By this time the group's live performances had become smooth, precise and polished, and producer Alan Lorber elected to try to capture some of this ambience in the recording. Accordingly, Orpheus' own instrumental work was featured more than it had been previously, and the material selected for inclusion showed the group's versatility and breadth.

With songs ranging from the orchestrated show-stopper I'll Fly to the jug band / roaring twenties styling of Borneo, from the campy Don't Be So Serious to the intimate and beautiful ballad Mine's Yours, this album became a showcase for the individual and collective talents of the group. The magnificent Walk Away Renie, with its extraordinary group vocal harmonies, helped Ascending to win a Top 10 place in the 1969 Playboy magazine Best Vocal Album reader poll. Even more significantly, the album ranked higher in the poll results than such classics as Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles, By The Time I Get To Phoenix by Glen Campbell, Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin, and Simply Streisand by Barbra Streisand, to name just a few.

Nevertheless, the group's folk roots were preserved. The songs Just A Little Bit and So Far Away In Love had actually been written several years earlier, and had been mainstays of the performances of the folk duo The Villagers (one of the predecessors of Orpheus), comprising Jack and Bruce.

Ascending was released in July of 1968 as MGM SE-4569, and rode Billboard magazine's Top Pop Albums chart for 12 weeks, peaking at no. 159.

During the same recording sessions, Orpheus also recorded the theme song for the MGM film "Marlowe," which starred James Garner as Raymond Chandler's private detective character Philip Marlowe. The movie, based on Chandler's novel The Little Sister, has become a cult favorite.

I'll Fly - 0:00
Just Got Back - 2:27
Mine's Yours - 6:22
Don't Be So Serious - 9:45
So Far Away In Love - 12:00
She's Not There - 13:53
Love Over Here - 17:14
Borneo - 19:47
Just A Little Bit - 22:08
Walk Away Renée - 26:26
Roses - 29:36
Magic Air - 33:10